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Under cover of the silence of night, Siddhartha asked his charioteer, Chandak, to prepare the horses. In the midst of a summer night gleaming with the light of a full moon, Siddhartha exited the great gates of the palace. Crossing the boundaries of three states he reached the Anoma River. Siddhartha stopped at the banks of the river and with the sharp edge of his sword he cut off the locks of his hair and removed his princely ornaments and garments. Handing over his precious ornaments to his charioteer Chandak, Siddhartha asked him to return to the kingdom. The charioteer, much taken aback and distressed, returned to the kingdom and reported the incident. This flight of Siddhartha is known as “the Great Renunciation.”
In Search for Truth
As he continued on the way to Raj Graha Siddhartha came across three ashrams and stayed with their acharyas (teachers). However, their meditation practices seemed inadequate and incomplete to him. He decided to spend some time in solitude in the Pandava hills. After that he went to Uruvella (Bodhagaya) where there lived a pundit named Alara Kalama, an acclaimed teacher of Samkhya philosophy. Siddhartha studied under him and learned certain yogic techniques. Yet again, the inner quest of Siddhartha was not satisfied. From there he went to study with
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